What are the reasons for continuous eruption of hawaii volcano?
Answers
Mount Kilauea has a volcanic cone on the eastern side named Puu Oo which held a shallow magma reservoir beneath its surface - lava would build up in the reservoir and pour into the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists had been watching the volcanic cone closely as its floor seemed to swell over a series of months.
This caused cracks in the road surfaces in Leilani Estates, which subsequently began to spew lava and toxic sulphur dioxide.
Vents have continued to open along a northeast/southwest line along the island and lava has continued to burst out - destroying houses and threatening water mains.
Scientists remain unable to predict how long Kilauea may erupt for.
Hawaii's famed Kilauea volcano continued to erupt Friday, opening massive fissures in a residential neighborhood for the first time since 1960, demolishing two homes and shooting fountains of red-hot lava up to 100 feet in the air.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for the rural communities of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens, which sit on the eastern base of the volcano and are home to at least 1,500 people. News stations captured video of people fleeing with their pets and whatever else they could quickly pack into their vehicles.
A total of 66 people were in shelters Thursday night, said Richard Rapoza, spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
Hawaii County declared a state of emergency and Gov. David Ige proclaimed the affected zone a disaster area to release emergency response funds. The National Park Service on Wednesday closed off nearly 16,000 acres near the volcano.
Hundreds of earthquakes have been rattling the area around the volcano this week, including a magnitude 6.9 that struck at 12:32 p.m. Friday and could be felt on other islands and in the capital of Honolulu. Damage estimates were not immediately available.
At least three cracks have opened in Leilani Estates since Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaii Volcano Observatory. Lava gushed into the air.
"Additional outbreaks are likely," the agency said.
The risk to people comes not only from the lava, but also from sulfur dioxide gas that is particularly dangerous for people with respiratory problems. Fire officials said the levels of the toxic gas in the evacuation area were extremely high.
Tourism officials said the eruption affected a limited area on Hawaii Island and posed no threat to visitors elsewhere. Airports remained open.
Though the volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983, it rarely inflicted major damage, and tourists often hiked to view the lava.
The lava flowed up into a crater named Puu Oo on the eastern shoulder that acted as a reservoir. Eventually it would seep back underground and out to sea.
But on Monday, the crater suddenly collapsed. "The bottom kind of fell out," said Wendy Stovall, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and an expert on Kilauea.
The crater's contents seeped into a network of underground channels. Scientists were able to follow the lava's path by tracking hundreds of small earthquakes. Whether and where it would rise to the surface remained unclear.
But on Wednesday, residents of Leilani Estates reported the first cracks in the ground. And at 4:30 p.m. local time Thursday, the first eruption began, shooting lava into the neighborhood.
Drone images broadcast by Hawaii News Now showed a long line of hot lava gushing up into the air out of a long crack in the ground.
The eruption lasted about two hours.
Then on Friday, eruptions started anew as at least two more fissures opened.
"USGS volcanologists are on the ground, and we are monitoring the situation 24/7," Stovall said. "How the eruption proceeds from this point is yet to be seen.